Elle Benet (Courtesy Photo) by Blair AdamsFor New Pittsburgh Courier (NNPA)–When Elle Benet looks back on her childhood, the memories are almost unbearable. For 18 years she lived in a world defined by verbal abuse and was part of a church that forced its members to live a life so austere that the outside world was held in disdain.

ROUND TABLE OF EXPERTS ON DOMESTIC PARTNER ABUSE (Photo by Nikki Denton) National statistics state that one in every four women will experience some type of domestic violence within her lifetime. These dismal numbers spurred one local group, Women Against Abusive Relationships, to reintroduce an educational and support program, the Healing Space.